WORLD MARKETS

Stocks fell, led by a 1.2 percent decline in Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA. Shares of Brazil's largest company fell after a report in the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper said the sale of shares by the country's national development bank was postponed until 2001 because of political opposition to the project. The sale was expected to generate up to $3.9 billion in revenue for the government.

Stocks rose, driving the benchmark index to its second record in two days. Nortel Networks Corp. led gainers after companies released better-than-expected earnings.

Nortel, Canada's biggest company by market value and the No. 2 phone-equipment maker in North America, rose $1.19 to a record $102.06. BCE Inc., which owns a 39.2 percent stake in Nortel, advanced 25 cents to $92.94, also a record, and JDS Uniphase Corp. rose $26.94 to $238.88.

ASIA

Japanese computer-related shares such as Hitachi Ltd. rose as their U.S. counterparts reported better-than-expected earnings. Hitachi, Japan's largest electronics maker, gained 2.3 percent.

Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. and other drugmakers fell, leaving the broad market mixed, as investors judged that a 22 percent gain in the index tracking these shares was overdone.